Shifting action for pianos



(No Model.)

. v H. H. NORTHROP.

SHIFTING ACTION FOR PIANOS.

Patented Dec. 10, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY H. NORTHROP, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHIFTING ACTION FOR PIANOS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,800, dated December 10, 1889. Application filed July 17, 1889. Serial No. 317,828. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY H. NoRTHRoP, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Piano Attachments, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the frame for supporting the action of an upright piano, with myimprovement attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my improvement as applied to a piano. Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the adjusting-rod and its handle. Fig. 5 is a view of a hammer, showing how its end has been indented afterthe hammer has been in use for some time, and showing also in section three piano-strings.

The ends of hammers that strike the strings of a piano, after having been in use for some time, become indented by such strings. To restore the ends 'of the hammers to their proper shape, it has been necessary to sandpaper or shave off the felt with which the ends of the hammers are bound. This method of restoring the ends of the hammers to a smooth condition is objectionable, for the reason that the operation takes considerable time, and also because such method tends to wear out the felt ends and make their renewal necessary.

The object of my invention is to provide means by which all of the hammers of a piano can be simultaneously shifted sufficiently to cause each hammer to strike the strings at a different point on its end from that at which it had previously been striking, which will afford smooth places on each hammer end for the strings to come in cont-act with, and willalso cause the felt covering to be raised to its normal height at the points where it had been previously indented. The shifting of the hammers is accomplished as illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter.

fully described.

That which I claim as new will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents a portion of a piano-casing.

B is a block of wood or metal which is to be attached in any suitable manner to the interior of the casing A. Its upper face is provided with a diagonal groove a. As shown in Fig 3, the upper face of the block and the bottom and sides of the groove a are covered with cloth or other similar material I), to prevent rattling.

O is a handle, made of wood or other suitable material, and having secured to its under face a roller 0, of suitable size to enter the diagonal groove a in the block B.

D is ametal rod, one end of which is screwthre'aded and enters a screw-threaded opening in the end of the handle 0. The outer end of the rod D is bent at right angles to form a latch 0r hook d.

E is the frame, which supports the action of a piano. As shown, it rests on a rod 6, and is held in place at each upper end by a short rod f, which passes through a slot g in the frame F, and is provided on its end with a set-screw h.

7t is a socket on the frame E, into which the hook end (1 of the rod D is placed. As shown,- it is formed on one side of the frame E, but it may be simply a hole in the frame itself.

F is an ordinary hammer, its acting end i being formed of felt, as usual.

j are the piano-strings.

l is a pin loosely secured in a hole in the upper face of the block B. This pin acts as a stop to hold the handle 0 in position.

In use the block B is to be secured at some suitable point to the inner surface of the piano-casing. The roller 0, attached to the handle C, is then to be placed in the diagonal groove co, and the rod D screwed out far enough to permit its hook end d to enter the socket 7c in the frame F. hen the ends i of the hammers F have become indented, as shown in Fig. 5, all that is necessary to be done to shift the hammers so that smooth portions of their ends will strike on the strings j, is to loosen the set'screws h and pull out the pin Z, and, by means of the handle C, push the roller 0 a very little toward either endof the diagonal groove to, which, by reason of the connection of the rod D with the frame E, will slightly move such frame on its under supporting-rod e,.the slots g in the upper part of the frame, through which the rods f pass, allowing the frame to move. The set-screws h are then to be tightened and the pin Z inserted in a hole in the block B, that will bring such pin against the handle 0 and hold it in position. \Vhen the frame has been shifted laterally, so that the indented portions of the ends i of the hammers F Will not be brought against the strings j, the effect of the contact of the strings with those portions of the ends of the hammers that have not been indented will be to raise the indented portions to their original height, or nearly so. After the piano has been in use for some time, and new indentations in the ends of the hammers have been formed, the frame E can be again laterally shifted, as above described. It can be shifted slightly in this manner from one side to the other, whenever the indentations have grown so deep as to affect the tone of the piano, for it has been found by experience that the con tinued use of piano-hammers with their ends indented, as shown in Fig. 5, produces what is known as a tinny tone.

By using my improvements considerable time and labor are saved in fixing the ends of the hammers to have them present a perfect rounded surface to the strings, and the felt coverings for the hammer ends will last for a much longer time than they now do, when repaired by the method I have mentioned.

It is evident that in place of the roller 0 a fixed block of a size and shape adapted to fit into the groove a could be employed.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The block 13, having a diagonal slot a, in combination with the handle 0, roller c,and rod D, secured at one end to the handle 0, and having its other end adapted to be socured to the frame of a piano-action, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The block B, having a diagonal slot a, handle O, having a roller 0, secured to its under side, and rod D, secured at one end to the handle 0 and having its other end bent to form a hook d, in combination with a laterally-movable frame E, for supporting a pianoaction, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

HENRY ll. NOR'lIlR-Ol. Witnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS, HARRY '1. Jones. 

